Grinding cup for blade coffee grinder
A grinding cup for a blade coffee grinder, includes a bottom wall; a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom wall and defining an upper opening which is to receive coffee beans; a removable lid, the removable lid having a lower surface at least substantially covering the upper opening; wherein the lower surface includes a plurality of downwardly projecting ribs configured to promote movement of coffee grinds towards the interior of the grinding cup.
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The present invention relates to the field of coffee grinder, and in particular to a grinding cup for a blade coffee grinder.
BACKGROUNDCoffee grinders are machines for grinding coffee beans. There are two main types of coffee grinder: a blade coffee grinder and a burr coffee grinder. Both types of coffee grinder include a grinding cup which is to receive the coffee beans and is typically conical or cylindrical in shape. The grinding cup acts as a container for the coffee beans while they are being ground. A blade grinder comprises a rotating blade to grind the coffee beans. A burr grinder comprises a pair of burrs at least one of which is rotated in order to grind the coffee.
A blade coffee grinder may comprise a motor, a grinding cup for receiving the coffee grinds and a blade coupled to the motor. The blade projects into the grinding cup and is rotated by the motor in order to grind the coffee beans contained within the grinding cup. Due to centrifugal forces created by the rotation of the blade and air flows within the grinding cup, coffee beans and coffee grinds may be pushed towards the circumference of the grinding cup. Because of this coffee beans, partially ground beans and coffee grinds 10 may cluster around the circumference of the grinding cup 1 in the upper part above the blade as shown in
The beans may thus move away from the interior of the cup and cluster at the upper part and/or around the circumference of the cup where they are out of reach of the blade. This may lead to incomplete and non-uniform grinding of the coffee beans, for example with large and inconsistent clumps of coffee grinds 10 as shown in
An aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a grinding cup for a coffee grinder with features to promote uniform grinding of the coffee. In one example the grinding cup has a lid with a plurality of ribs to promote movement of the coffee grinds towards the interior of the grinding cup, e.g. towards the center and away from the sidewalls and lid of the grinding cup.
Another aspect of the present disclosure proposes a grinding cup which does not have a conventional conical or cylindrical shape, but instead has an upper opening which is different in shape to the bottom wall of the cup. For instance, the grinding cup may have a circular upper opening and an oval bottom. In this way the shape of the grinding cup promotes tumbling and rotational motion of the coffee grinds so that the coffee grinds are less likely to cluster around the upper circumference of the grinding cup.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a blade coffee grinder comprising a motor, a grinding cup for receiving coffee beans according to either of the above aspects of the present disclosure and a blade projecting inside the grinding cup and coupled to the motor.
The blade 60 extends inside the grinding cup 100 and may for example enter the grinding cup 100 through an aperture in a bottom wall 110 of the grinding cup. As shown, the grinding cup 100, including the blade 60, is removable from the main body 30 and has a mount 111 that is removably positioned on an upper part 31 of the main body 30. The mount 111 supports the receiving mechanism 112. The grinding cup 100 includes a removable lid 140 which covers an upper opening of the grinding cup. In one example the main body 30 of the coffee grinder may be substantially cylindrical in shape.
The downwardly projecting ribs 150 are shaped to promote movement of the coffee grinds towards the interior and away from the sidewall 120, as illustrated by the arrows 210 in
In the example of
The ribs may be curved. For instance, the ribs may curve in a direction counter to a direction of rotation of a blade of the coffee grinder. In one example a direction of curvature of each rib 150 from the second end 152 of the rib to the first end 151 of the rib is opposite to the direction of rotation of the blade of the coffee grinder. For example, in
As shown in
The radius of curvature of the ribs may be greater than the radius of curvature of the circumference of the lid. In one example, an angle 155 between the first end and the second end of each rib is between 35 and 80 degrees. In the example of
In some examples, the lid 140 does not have any apertures. This helps to prevent coffee grinds from accidentally escaping the grinding cup due to upward motion imparted by the blade when the lid is in place. Rather coffee grinds tumble back towards the bottom wall of the grinding cup as shown by the arrows 220 in
In other examples the lid 140 may have an aperture for receiving coffee grinds there through and the aperture may be coverable by a flap or otherwise to prevent escape of coffee beans during operation of the blade coffee grinder. The aperture may be provided in the rib free region 145 of the lid 140.
The differing shapes of the upper opening and bottom wall are configured to promote movement of coffee beans and coffee grinds towards the interior of the grinding cup and away from the sidewall 820 during operation of the coffee grinder. The sidewall 820 has an irregular shape due to the differing shape of the bottom wall 810 and the upper opening 830 and thus coffee beans tend not to get stuck or cluster around a circumference of the grinding cup. In one example the sidewall may be curved so as to avoid sharp angles or corners which may catch coffee beans.
Rather the smooth curves may promote movement of the coffee beans, but the irregular shape causes turbulence which prevents the coffee beans sticking to the circumference.
In the example of
In the context of this disclosure the shape of the bottom wall means the cross-sectional shape of the bottom wall in a first plane, e.g. as shown in
The cross sectional area of the upper opening, e.g. as shown in
The grinding cup 800 may have a lid with downwardly depending ribs as discussed above, for instance with reference to
The present disclosure has been described above with reference to several illustrative examples. However, it is to be understood that a person skilled in the art may make variations or modifications to the above examples, while still remaining within the scope of the present disclosure.
Claims
1. A grinding cup for a grinder blade coffee, the grinding cup comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom wall and defining an upper opening which is to receive coffee beans;
- a removable lid, the removable lid having a lower surface covering the upper opening;
- the bottom wall, the sidewall and the removable lid defining a grinding chamber of the blade coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans,
- wherein said lower surface includes a plurality of downwardly projecting ribs configured to promote movement of coffee grinds towards the interior of the grinding cup,
- wherein the grinding cup is adapted to be removably secured to the blade coffee grinder,
- wherein the ribs extend from a location proximate a circumference of the lid towards a center of the lid, and
- wherein the ribs have a profile that tapers towards the center of the lid.
2. The grinding cup of claim 1, wherein the lid does not include any apertures.
3. The grinding cup of claim 1, wherein a first end of each rib is proximate a circumference of the lid and a second end of each rib is proximate a center of the lid, there is a rib free region of the lid located radially inward from the second ends of the ribs, the rib free region having an area less than 30% of a total area of the lid.
4. The grinding cup of claim 1, wherein a height of the plurality of ribs is between 3 mm and 5 mm.
5. The grinding cup of claim 1, wherein the upper opening has a different shape to the bottom wall.
6. The grinding cup of claim 5, wherein the upper opening has a circular shape and the bottom wall has an oval shape.
7. The grinding cup of claim 5, wherein a cross sectional area of the upper opening is greater than a cross sectional area of the bottom wall.
8. The grinding cup of claim 6, wherein a cross sectional area of the upper opening is greater than a cross sectional area of the bottom wall.
9. A blade coffee grinder comprising:
- a motor;
- a grinding cup for receiving coffee beans to be ground;
- a blade projecting inside the grinding cup and coupled to the motor;
- wherein the grinding cup is a grinding cup according to claim 1.
10. The blade coffee grinder of claim 9, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the blade in a first direction and wherein the plurality of downwardly projecting ribs are curved ribs, a first end of each rib being proximate a circumference of the lid and a second end of each rib being proximate a center of the lid and a direction of curvature of each rib from the second end of the rib to the first end of the rib being counter to the first direction of rotation of the blade.
11. The grinding cup of claim 1, wherein the lower surface covers at least 90% of the upper opening.
12. A grinding cup for a blade coffee grinder, the grinding cup comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom wall and defining an upper opening which is to receive coffee beans;
- a removable lid, the removable lid having a lower surface covering the upper opening;
- wherein said lower surface includes a plurality of downwardly projecting ribs configured to promote movement of coffee grinds towards the interior of the grinding cup,
- wherein the ribs extend from a location proximate a circumference of the lid towards a center of the lid,
- wherein the ribs are curved,
- wherein the grinding cup is adapted to be removably secured to the blade coffee grinder, and
- wherein the ribs have a profile that tapers towards the center of the lid.
13. The grinding cup of claim 12, wherein each rib has a first end proximate a circumference of the lid and a second end proximate a center of the lid and a direction of curvature of each rib from the second end of the rib to the first end of the rib is opposite to a direction of rotation of the blade of the coffee grinder.
14. The grinding cup of claim 12, wherein each rib has a first end proximate a circumference of the lid and a second end proximate a center of the lid and wherein an angle between the first end and the second end of the rib is between 35 and 80 degrees.
15. A grinding cup for a blade coffee grinder, the grinding cup comprising:
- a bottom wall;
- a sidewall extending upwardly from the bottom wall and defining an upper opening which is to receive coffee beans;
- a removable lid for covering the upper opening, the removable lid having a lower surface which faces the bottom wall when the removable lid covers the upper opening,
- wherein the bottom wall, the sidewall and the removable lid define a grinding chamber of the blade coffee grinder to grind the coffee beans,
- wherein the upper opening has a circular shape and the bottom wall has an oval shape,
- wherein said lower surface includes a plurality of downwardly projecting ribs configured to promote movement of coffee grinds towards the interior of the grinding cup, and
- wherein the ribs have a profile that tapers towards a center of the lid.
16. The grinding cup of claim 15, wherein a cross sectional area of the upper opening is greater than a cross sectional area of the bottom wall.
17. A blade coffee grinder comprising:
- a motor;
- a grinding cup for receiving coffee beans to be ground;
- a blade projecting inside the grinding cup and coupled to the motor;
- wherein the grinding cup is a grinding cup according to claim 15.
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- English translate (FR2420369A2), retrieved date Jul. 19, 2021.
Type: Grant
Filed: Jun 3, 2019
Date of Patent: Oct 26, 2021
Patent Publication Number: 20200375400
Assignee: SEB ASIA LIMITED (Tai Kok Tsui)
Inventor: Wai Chiu Leung (Kowloon)
Primary Examiner: Adam J Eiseman
Assistant Examiner: Mohammed S. Alawadi
Application Number: 16/429,775
International Classification: A47J 43/046 (20060101); A47J 42/46 (20060101); A47J 42/26 (20060101);